Fortalecimiento de los procesos de gestión ambiental en la agencia de viajes y turismo ECOTRAVEL Villa de Leyva mediante la implementación de la norma técnica sectorial de turismo sostenible NTS-TS 003

Abstract

Tourism is undoubtedly one of the largest industries in the world, being the fastest growing economic activity in the country, according to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, this line of the economy contributes 3.8% to GDP thanks to its strategic location of the country in terms of biodiversity, however, like other industries, tourism has generated as a consequence various environmental problems, for which a series of policies or regulations have been incorporated that seek to guarantee the protection and conservation of territories and of equal way they seek to promote the socio-cultural growth of the local community; through job creation and respect for their customs. The transition towards sustainable tourism models has significantly increased the demand for establishments and destinations that incorporate new sustainability strategies and mechanisms in their organizations. It is estimated that in 2019 about 500 million people made use of this new tourism concept, which is why in this project the intervention to ECOTRAVEL VILLA DE LEYVA is carried out through the implementation of the NTS-TS 003 of tourism sustainability for travel agencies, through this standard it was possible to clearly identify the impacts caused by the agency in the development of its activities and result in compliance with a series of management requirements for sustainability, within which actions were established, strategies and indicators to minimize or optimize these impacts. The implementation opens up new economic opportunities within the growing market and offers greater visibility against the competition. Likewise, since the agency did not meet any sustainability criteria, the implementation is submitted to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism for consideration and review through the Quality and Sustainable Development Directorate for its respective approval.